Caron Park is home to a new mountain bike trail. Constructed completely by CROCT (Cannon River Offroad Cycling and Trails) volunteers, the project was carried out with the approval of the Rice County Parks & Facilities department and the Rice County Board of Commissioners subcommittee for parks.

The beginner/intermediate-level trail segment is a new feature of Caron Park (6816 170th Street E., Faribault), a 60-acre park located north of County Road #88 (170th Street) and three miles from Nerstrand Woods State Park in the eastern part of the county. In June 2015, over 30 volunteers showed up to construct the first phase of the trail; in November 2015, an extension was added.

This mountain bike trail is similar to the mountain biking and hiking trails at River Bend Nature Center, which are designed to encourage and accommodate human activity in the midst of nature.

Unlike the pre-existing trails at Caron Park, the new CROCT trail was designed to be sustainable and erosion resistant, constructed with a slightly crowned tread on flat terrain or an outsloped tread on sloping terrain. Announcements are regularly made via social media regarding closure of the trail if it gets too wet to walk or ride without damaging it. CROCT also uses social media to educate riders on the importance of not riding across or in streams to prevent erosion and sediment disruption, and informing of rules about coexisting with nature, wildlife and other users.

Rice County Parks & Facilities Director Jake Rysavy said, “The trail is a great addition to Caron Park. And an advantage of having more people in the park for a multi-use mountain bike trail is to discourage vandalism that occasionally happens at the park.”

For More Information

CROCT (Cannon River Offroad Cycling and Trails) is a mountain bicycling club operating in Rice County, Minnesota. Their mission is to advocate for, build, maintain and enjoy sustainable trails for offroad cycling and other recreational use in the Cannon River region. They are a chapter of the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA).